CHAPTER 8

Author's Note:
    
            Hey Guys! Hope you all had a great weekend. Sorry for disappearing last week.I had my internal exams that time. Anyways here is this week's chapter!Enjoy!

CHAPTER 8

I AM A QUEEN. AND QUEENS DOESN’T FALL BACK FROM BATTLE.

After chatting for sometime we all decided to part ways.

On the walk back to our home Reshma started the conversation, “I like the boys. Yeah, Jason and Sebastian maybe a little bit sketchy and distant but I don’t think they are bad. What do you think Jhansi?”.

“Yea, I don’t think they are bad too. It will be good to have some friendly people  when we go to college.

“Well I hope you have learnt your lesson today.”, stated Jessica to Jhansi.

“And what lesson would that be?”, she asked with her eyebrow raised.

“Not everybody likes strawberry. Hot guys like chocolates. I can’t believe you fell for my trap today!”, Jess replied and started laughing.

“You little criminal minded oompa-loompa!! Stop! I will show you who fell for whose trap now!”, she followed after Jessica who had started running.

Reshma and I reached our home and fell on our couch watching both of our maniac friends bicker at each other.

What great best friends we all have! But I know I wouldn’t be here without them here!

I know one thing for sure.

Whatever things life may throw at us , I know we will stick together and look out for each other. To hell with guys! We all love each other with all of our hearts!

After the diner episode we all decided to stay in and watching movies and  eating junk foods. We spent the entire day indoors quietly and went to bed early.

The next day morning when I woke up , only one thought was looping in my mind.

I am going to college. In a day.

Besides staying away from my brother and parents for three years and I now also have new responsibilities and have to take care of myself and protect myself. Even though my friends are here and know about my panic attacks, they have never seen me having one. The panic attacks always comes during nights and I had my brother to take care of me in such times.

That is the reason why he chose a college near our hometown. So that he could go to college daily from home and come back to take care of me. I too had planned to go to the same college, but I wanted to be independent. Plus my friends were coming here , so I wanted to come study here.

Now, I am all alone. With no one knowing how to take care of me during the attacks.

This thought instilled fear in my usual bold and confident self. 

My trembling hands reached for my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart.

My brother, Nathaniel, answered the  phone in the third ring, “You ugly faced devil, speak only if its utterly important else cut the call”, responded my brother in a sleepy voice.

“You master the arts of answering phone calls ,Nate”, I replied.

“As I said , cut the call if its unimportant.”, came the reply.

“I am terrified , Nate”, I said in a low voice.

“Did you look at yourself in the mirror this early in the morning?”.

“Nathan!”, I whispered swallowing a sob.

“Hey! What happened? Did it come again yesterday?”, he asked seriously. I call him as Nathan only when I am extremely sad or extremely terrified and about to fall apart.

“No, but I am terrified of what will happen when it comes? How will my friends manage me? We are barely 18. They can’t even take care of themselves , then how will they take care of me? I am going to be a burden to all of them. It’s so stupid of me to even think that I can live independently. I can’t even survive! Let alone live!! Please come and take me back Nathan!”, I completed in a single breath ending with a sob.

“Shh. Shh. Stop it Rani. Remember that you have survived far worse things and you can survive life too! Damn you will live one hell of a life that everyone will be jealous of you. And you are not a burden to anyone. Don’t ever think of yourself like that. You are Rani, a queen. That’s how our parents wanted you to be. Always keep that mind.

And your friends, they will do anything for you, to take care of you, and about that I am very certain.

Now calm yourself and take deep breaths as we practiced. In and Out. In and Out. In and Out.”

After listening to my brother’s talk and a 5 minute breathing session later , I cut the call.

Maybe I can survive this alone with the help of my friends.

Maybe I can try to be independent.

But I should put in effort from my side first. I am a Queen. And queens doesn’t fall back from battle.

They plan, practice and fight like fire.  Except my battle isn’t with my enemy but with myself.

After lying on the bed for few minutes , I woke up and got ready then went downstairs for breakfast.

Reshma and Jessica were already up and were watching TV lying on the sofa.

“Morning guys!, what ya doing?”, I asked them  and settled next to them .

“Oh, we were just waiting for you guys to come downstairs. Jessi wanted to do some shopping before finally we start college.”, replied Reshma switching between the channels and finally stopped at a channel showing a horror movie.

“Yea, you won’t believe what’s out in the  market now!”,Jessi waved her hands wildly in excitement. “The Gucci finally released its brand new model  leather pump shoes in green color that matches perfectly with that dress I have and Gods know that I have been saving money forever to get this shoe!!”.

“Alright! Alright! We will go shoe shopping today, ok? Happy? Get ready now.”, I said and shooed away both of them into their rooms but not before snatching the remote from Reshma and changed the horror movie to music channel.

It is bliss, sitting on the sofa listening to music uninterrupted trying to soak whatever amount of inner peace I can gather before starting the college.

After some time Jhansi came down and I explained to her about the shopping trip and we both went together upstairs to get ready.

Exactly after an hour we stepped outside the door ready to face the battle of shoe shopping and little did we know that today would be the day we would face the queen devil unleashing her wrath upon us.

Author's note :

   Hello Readers! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am incredibly sorry to say that I wont be posting any chapters next week. Instead I will be posting 2 chapters after 2 weeks. 

                     Have a great week ahead!

“Be spontaneous, be creative, go out and have fun, let things happen naturally.”                                                                                                           

                                                                - Conor McGregor

CHAPTER 7

Author's note :

                  Hey Guys! The first portion of the story is written in third person's point of view. Ranina's point of view comes later in the chapter and the heading is highlighted. 
                   Hope you like this chapter!!

CHAPTER 7

IF YOU LIKE CAKES, BAKE HIM AS A CARROT CHEESE CAKE!

Natalie was so immersed in her book that she barely noticed her friend Nicholas bring her the strawberry-flavored ice-cream.

Not wanting to disturb his friend, Nicholas Knight sat on the sofa opposite Natalie and before he could break his friend out of her reading spree and make his presence known to her , there was a change in the atmosphere inside The Diner.

The chaotic cafe wherein the din can drown out your own voice suddenly became calm and silent.

No sound was heard except for your own breathing sound.

Sensing the change in the aura of the café, Natalie’s head jerked upwards and that’s when she saw them.

In came four model like guys both gorgeous and intimidating with their bold confident steps. Everybody in The Diner seemed to have noticed them and the sudden change in the air inside the café except for the four girls at the center who were laughing amongst themselves oblivious to the change around them.

The four guys started walking towards the center table occupied by those girls and sat opposite them. Having noticed the recipients of the guys, the people in The Diner resumed their work and the café was back to its chaotic life.

“I just spoke with one of the girls from that table”, said Nicholas to Natalie pointing at the center table which was full to its 8 people capacity.

“What did you guys talk about?”, asked Natalie curiously.

“She heard me ordering your ice-cream and asked me about it. She seemed to like  strawberry flavor.”

“She sure does have a good taste”, she replied with a smile.

“Whatever”.  With that they both resumed their works.

****************************

(RANINA’S POINT OF VIEW STARTS HERE)

“I guess you know who I am, stalker.”

Heat rose to my cheeks in embarrassment. All three of his friends looked at me with surprised and shocked expressions.

“He was just kidding ,right, Jay? Alright, what do you guys want? Jessica and I will go and place our orders. Don’t worry about the cost. Everything here is free for us!”, said Noah winking at the last part.

He probably enjoys the free food here more than Jason I guess. He wasn’t exactly joyful of the fact that his dad owns this place. If it were me, I would eat here, sleep here and repeat it again.

A sigh escapes me involuntarily and I enter into my dream world.

How nice it would be if all people were eatables like sandwiches and pizzas and burgers. That way if we don’t like someone we could eat them! And there would be peace in the world and population would be under control.

For example, take a look at Jason. He was wearing an orange shirt that fitted him perfectly with khakhi pants.

Now doesn’t he look like a carrot? If he goes on insulting me, we can make him as carrot halwa or convert him as carrot juice and drink him.

If you like cakes, bake him as a carrot cheese cake! Wow! I loveeee cheese!!

“Back to earth Ranina! You were looking at Jason as if you were about to eat him!”, laughed Anand.

I quickly ducked my head as everybody at my table started laughing.

“She probably started day-dreaming. It’s like her thing. You won’t find it weird once you get used to it.”, Reshma saved me.

“There they come with all the food! Help them.”, Sebastian ordered in his deep voice.

Then we arranged the food and started eating. Then suddenly someone’s phone started ringing at our table. Jason took out his brand new iPhone and he cursed looking at the caller id.

Looking uncomfortable, he answered his call, “Yes?”. As the person on the other side spoke, his facial expressions changed rapidly from confusion to rage to cold. I watched Sebastian closely watching Jason as if he was getting ready control him his friend if he ever snaps.

Then he cut his call saying, “Fine”.

Whoa. He spoke only two words at the maximum throughout the entire phone call. I slightly shake my head thinking how it would impossible for me to cut a call within 5 minutes, nevertheless speak only 2 words.

“Let’s go Seb!”, Jason said in a cold,hard voice. His voice snapped me back into reality.

Together they stood up and left The Diner. Me and my friends exchanged glances with each other as their other two friends looked at us with an apologetic smile.

“Don’t worry. They will come around.”, said Noah and started talking about Anand and his uncontrollable obsessions with books and shared his embarrassing stories.

Anand in turn , started telling us stories which featured the most indecent and funny responses Noah got when he was hitting on girls.

One such story had us all laughing and teary.

“Once we went to a mall and met this girl in the cafeteria. She looked hot in that tight little pink dress and so Noah went to her and said , ‘I think your voice is as good as your looks! Can I get your number so I can talk with you later?’, to that she replied , ‘Oh yeah! You look hot yourself!’ ,the girl replied in her ,sorry, his deep male voice.”, said Anand and started laughing.

“You should have seen his look and how he ran away from her as if pants were on fire. That was so funny”, he added and we all laughed more.

“Guys! How was I supposed to know that she was a he? You will never let me live this down , will you?”, Noah defended himself pathetically which had us all laughing more.

And that’s when I realized that we were actually having a good time and it was not as bad as I thought it would be and hoped it would stay that way.

Author's note :
                      Hello Readers! You can expect more third person point of views in the upcoming chapters. Share your views on this chapter.

                     Have a great week ahead!

Even though you're growing up, you should never stop having fun.

                                                                                

                                                                                      -  Nina Dobrev

CHAPTER 6

Author's Note:
    
            Hey Guys! Hope you all had a great weekend. An early update!! Enjoy!

CHAPTER 6

I AM NOT GONNA DIE SINGLE  

 

“I say chocolate ice cream is the best. Your taste in ice cream is the same as your taste in guys. Oh. That’s right, you don’t have one.”, said Jessica to Jhansi who have never dated guys or even flirted with them before.

We were now walking towards The Diner that was at the end of our street to meet Jason and his friends. Jhansi and Jessica were arguing about which ice cream tastes best.

 “Says the girl who exchanged numbers with the guy she barely met AND chatted with him the whole night.”, Jhansi replied. Reshma and I gasped hearing this. “But that’s beside the point. Strawberry ice cream is the best.”, she finished.

“Whoa! Does your road have any speed-breaker at all? Slow it down  Jess! In this rate you guys will have a 2 year old in 3 days I guess”, I joked.

“Atleast I am not gonna die as a single unlike some chocolate-hating ridiculous person here” , argued Jessica.

“I am not gonna die single!”,hissed Jhansi.

“But Jess does has a point. I have never seen you flirt with a guy before.”,Reshma added thoughtfully joining the conversation.

“Alright. When we reach The Diner I will go start a conversation with the first guy who orders a strawberry ice cream. Chocolate ice cream sucks.”, said Jhansi hotly.

“Fine. We will have it your way then. There, we have reached The Diner. Let’s go find the boys.”, said Jessica.

When we entered The Diner , it was half-full. Some of them were people who came here after their morning run. While others looked like they came here like us , just for food and to catch up with their friends.

The place had a dim lighting and with the pleasant smell of coffees and the slight music playing in the background , it was calm and cozy for the people who need to calm their minds.

We quickly found a 8 seater table at the center and settled down. “Let’s listen for the guy who orders strawberry now, shall we?”, said Jess.

We watched for about 5 minutes looking for a strawberry-icecream-ordering-guy.

“A breakfast tacos and a  strawberry flavored icecream with sprinkles please ”, ordered a guy. “Your name ?” , asked the Cashier at the bill counter.

He was tall with a good physique.

“Knight.”

“Alright,Mr.Knight. We will call you when your order is ready.”

And then he turned.

Oh, good looking too.

“Alright, Jhansi. Go! Go! now!”, whisper shouted Reshma when he started moving away from the counter.

“Alright, alright. I am going now. Shut up now”, said Jhansi standing up. We all watched her go excitedly.

She then walked towards him and called out, “Uhm, Excuse me, I heard you ordering strawberry icecream at the counter. Are they good here?”.

“Uh, I wouldn’t  know. The icecream was not for me. It was for my friend Natalie.”, he answered glancing towards his table where a girl around our age was sitting. She was a brunette and had gorgeous curls.

Yea, I have a thing for curly hair.

“But you like strawberry icecream right?”, enquired Jhnasi.

“Guys,I can practically hear her chanting , ‘please say yes!,please say yes!’ within  her head.”, joked Jess. A silent laughter erupted from our table.

Much to Jhansi’s dismay he replied, “No. I don’t like strawberry. In fact I am a choco-lover! Well, I gotta go now. See you around!” and he left for his table.

Jhansi was now walking towards our table and once she sat down, she huffed, “This is why I never talk with guys unless until its utterly necessary. I can’t believe I fell for your trap to go talk with a guy” she said shaking her head.

We all laughed and looked at the door when the door to The Diner opened and in walked the boys we were waiting for.

The four of them walked in pairs and with their long confident steps they had the girls in The Diner swooning. It  was the first time I was seeing Jason’s friends and they were gorgeous too.

But not as gorgeous as Jason. And that’s what caused this whole mess. I shook away all my inappropriate thoughts and looked at them noticing us.

With the same confidence and attitude they reached our table and sat down on the chairs opposite to ours in the 8 seater table as if they own the place.

“Whoa. You guys came in as if you own the place”, remarked Reshma expressing my exact thoughts out loud.

“No. We don’t. But he does.”, said a dirty blonde haired guy glancing at Jason.

“I don’t own this place Noah. My father does.”, replied Jason with such command that marked the end of that conversation.

“Oh my! Where are my manners! Let us introduce ourselves. You must be Ranina Andrews. I am Noah. Noah Miller. Pleased to meet you!”, spoke the dirty blonde.

“I am Anand Gupta. Nice to meet you.”, said another guy whose black hair was neatly combed to one side and looked the smartest of all.

Then spoke a blonde with a deep voice who had tattoos all over his hand and also had ear piercings, “Sebastian Williams”.

Then we all looked at Jason who simply raised an eyebrow which caused his black curly locks fall into his eyes and said, “I guess you know who I am, stalker.”

Heat rose to my cheeks in embarrassment. All three of his friends looked at me with surprised and shocked expressions.

           This is going to be a long day. 

Author's note :

          Hello Readers! So finally Ranina meets the not-so-bad neighbors. What do you think of this chapter? And don't forget our Mr.Knight guy from this chapter. He is important in our story as you will see in the later chapters.

         So, enough of spoilers now. Have a great week ahead guys!!

 “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” 

                                                                                                       —Maya Angelou